(1 of )The Metzger House at 216 Tenth St. in Santa Rosa in 1888. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(2 of )Women modeling sportswear at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa in 1958. (Photo by Don Meacham, courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(3 of )An unidentified brass band in 1868. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(4 of )Santa Rosa’s Pacific Methodist College photographed between 1875 and 1878. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(5 of )A class photo from Sweet’s Business College, circa 1898. The school was started by a two-time mayor of Santa Rosa, James Sylvester Perry Sweet. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(6 of )Construction debris surrounds the Sonoma County Courthouse in Santa Rosa just after completion circa 1908. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(7 of )Jake Luppold and friends outside the Senate, a popular bar owned by Luppold at Second and Main streets in Santa Rosa in 1918. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(8 of )The California Theatre located at 434 B St. in 1928. The theater was built for film and vaudeville and had a stage, dressing rooms and orchestra pit. Although the theater survived the 1969 Rogers Creek Fault earthquake that damaged a swath of downtown Santa Rosa, it closed in 1977 and demolished a short time later to make way for Macy’s department store and the Santa Rosa Plaza shopping center. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(9 of )Observation of National Air Mail Week at the Santa Rosa Air Field, Santa Rosa on May 19, 1938. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(10 of )The J.E. Meyer Lincoln and Ford dealership at 300 Fifth St. in Santa Rosa in 1938. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(11 of )The 1948 eighth-grade class of Santa Rosa Junior High School located at 756 Humboldt St. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(12 of )The bar at Guidotti's Restaurant at 521 Adams St. in Santa Rosa in 1948. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(13 of )Dick From takes delivery of the first Ghia convertible from Darrold Parks in Santa Rosa in 1958. (Photo by Don Meacham, Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(14 of )Women modeling sportswear at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa in 1958. (Photo by Don Meacham, courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(15 of )A 1958 family portrait of the Wayne Kishbaugh family who lived at 3140 Magowan Drive in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Don Meacham, courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(16 of )La Rose Market in Santa Rosa on May 26, 1958. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(17 of )A Ford Thunderbird parked in front of Santa Rosa Junior High advertises for the Luther Burbank Rose Festival in 1958. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(18 of )The Santa Rosa Junior College band performs for a lunchtime crowd in 1968. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(19 of )Students walking into the cafeteria and student union at Sonoma State University in 1968. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(20 of )Children browse the shelves of a bookmobile in Santa Rosa in 1968. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(21 of )Foosball tables and pinball machines at Star Skate World at 2075 Occidental Road in Santa Rosa in 1978. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(22 of )The reading room of the Northwest Branch Library in 1978. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(23 of )Benny Friedman in his store on Santa Rosa Avenue in 1988. His financial generosity and leadership helped transform a church building into what is now knowns as the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts.

(24 of )Swimmers at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa in 1988. (Courtesy of the Sonoma County Library)

(25 of )Lisa Marinelli went to see Star Wars at the Raven Theater in Healdsburg dress as Princess Leia.

(26 of )11/15/2008:B1: Warm autumn colors match the warmth of the day as a fisherman tries his luck on Spring Lake on Friday in Santa Rosa.
PC: News/--Warm autumn colors match the warmth of the day as a fisherman plys the Spring Lake, Friday November 14, 2008 in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)2008

(27 of )The Rendez Vous Bistro on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa, shown shortly after it opened in 2008.

If you have trouble pronouncing “sesquicentennial” you have some time to practice.

Santa Rosa will celebrate its 150th birthday on Saturday, Sept. 8, in Old Courthouse Square. The city was first incorporated in 1868.

Festivities begin at 3 p.m. with live music, children’s activities, food vendors, historical displays, speeches, a movie and the burial of the new time capsule to be unearthed in 2068. Winners of a youth art contest and writing contest will also be announced.